Methods and Systems for Producing Reduced Resid and Bottomless Products from Heavy Hydrocarbon Feedstocks

ABSTRACT

The present invention is directed to the upgrading of heavy petroleum oils of high viscosity and low API gravity that are typically not suitable for pipelining without the use of diluents. The method comprises introducing a particulate heat carrier into an up-flow reactor, introducing the feedstock at a location above the entry of the particulate heat carrier, allowing the heavy hydrocarbon feedstock to interact with the heat carrier for a short time, separating the vapors of the product stream from the particulate heat carrier and liquid and byproduct solid matter, collecting a gaseous and liquid product mixture comprising a mixture of a light fraction and a heavy fraction from the product stream, and using a vacuum tower to separate the light fraction as a substantially bottomless product and the heavy fraction from the product mixture.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to rapid thermal processing (RTP™) of aviscous crude feedstock to produce an upgraded product. Morespecifically, this invention relates to an upgrading process andapparatus for producing a low resid and/or bottomless liquid productfrom a heavy hydrocarbon feedstock.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Heavy oil and bitumen resources are supplementing the decline in theproduction of conventional light and medium crude oils, and productionfrom these resources is steadily increasing. Pipelines cannot handlethese crude oils unless diluents are added to decrease their viscosityand specific gravity to pipeline specifications. Alternatively,desirable properties are achieved by primary upgrading. However, dilutedcrudes or upgraded synthetic crudes are significantly different fromconventional crude oils. As a result, bitumen blends or synthetic crudesare not easily processed in conventional fluid catalytic crackingrefineries. Therefore, in either case further processing must be done inrefineries configured to handle either diluted or upgraded feedstocks.

Many heavy hydrocarbon feedstocks are also characterized as comprisingsignificant amounts of BS&W (bottom sediment and water). Such feedstocksare not suitable for transportation by pipeline, or refining due totheir corrosive properties and the presence of sand and water.Typically, feedstocks characterized as having less than 0.5 wt. % BS&Ware transportable by pipeline, and those comprising greater amounts ofBS&W require some degree of processing or treatment to reduce the BS&Wcontent prior to transport. Such processing may include storage to letthe water and particulates settle, and heat treatment to drive off waterand other components. However, these manipulations add to operatingcost. There is therefore a need within the art for an efficient methodof upgrading feedstock having a significant BS&W content prior totransport or further processing of the feedstock.

Heavy oils and bitumens can be upgraded using a range of processesincluding thermal, hydrocracking, visbreaking, or catalytic crackingprocedures. Several of these processes, such as visbreaking or catalyticcracking, utilize either inert or catalytic particulate contactmaterials within upflow or downflow reactors. Catalytic contactmaterials are for the most part zeolite based, while visbreakingtypically utilizes inert contact material, carbonaceous solids, or inertkaolin solids.

The use of fluid catalytic cracking (FCC), or other units for the directprocessing of bitumen feedstocks is known in the art. However, manycompounds present within the crude feedstocks interfere with theseprocesses by depositing on the contact material itself. These feedstockcontaminants include metals such as vanadium and nickel, coke precursorssuch as (Conradson) carbon residues, and asphaltenes. Unless removed bycombustion in a regenerator, deposits of these materials can result inpoisoning and the need for premature replacement of the contactmaterial. This is especially true for contact material employed with FCCprocesses, as efficient cracking and proper temperature control of theprocess requires contact materials comprising little or no combustibledeposit materials or metals that interfere with the catalytic process.

To reduce contamination of the catalytic material within catalyticcracking units, pretreatment of the feedstock via visbreaking, thermalor other processes, typically using FCC-like reactors, operating attemperatures below that required for cracking the feedstock have beensuggested. These systems operate in series with FCC units and functionas pretreaters for FCC. These pretreatment processes are designed toremove contaminant materials from the feedstock, and operate underconditions that mitigate any cracking. These processes ensure that anyupgrading and controlled cracking of the feedstock takes place withinthe FCC reactor under optimal conditions.

Several of these processes have been specifically adapted to process“resids” (i.e. feedstocks produced from the fractional distillation of awhole crude oil) and bottom fractions, in order to optimize recoveryfrom the initial feedstock supply. The disclosed processes for therecovery of resids, or bottom fractions, are physical and involveselective vaporization or fractional distillation of the feedstock withminimal or no chemical change of the feedstock. These processes are alsocombined with metal removal and provide feedstocks suitable for FCCprocessing. The selective vaporization of the resid takes place undernon-cracking conditions, without any reduction in the viscosity of thefeedstock components, and ensures that cracking occurs within an FCCreactor under controlled conditions. None of these approaches disclosethe upgrading of feedstock within this pretreatment (i.e. metals andcoke removal) process. Other processes for the thermal treatment offeedstocks involve hydrogen addition (hydrotreating), which results insome chemical change in the feedstock.

Methods are known for assisting in the recovery of heavy oils from oilproduction fields. For example, one method used for removing bitumenfrom oil-sands is an oil extraction process known as Steam-AssistedGravity Drainage (SAGD). SAGD uses steam generated from a source ofenergy, such as natural gas, to reduce the viscosity of the solidifiedbitumen and make it transportable through a pipeline. This methodrequires the introduction of natural gas to the oil field. Furthermore,the amount of natural gas needed to extract a barrel of bitumen from oilsands in energy equivalents is about 1 to 1.25 GJ. Due to fluctuationsin the price of natural gas, the cost of obtaining a barrel of bitumenusing SAGD and natural gas may escalate over time. It is thereforedesirable to have an alternate source of energy for generating steamthat is inexpensive, replenishable and in close proximity to the site ofa bitumen production facility to control the cost of operations andallow the facility to operate with little or no natural gas.

The present invention is directed to a method for upgrading heavyhydrocarbon feedstocks, for example but not limited to heavy oil orbitumen feedstocks, to produce a bottomless product or other upgradedproduct as desired based on market or consumer requirements orpreferences. The method utilizes a short residence-time pyrolyticreactor operating under conditions that upgrade the feedstock and avacuum tower. The feedstock used within this process may comprisesignificant levels of BS&W and still be effectively processed, therebyincreasing the efficiency of feedstock handling. Furthermore, a portionor all of the energy requirement of the oil field may be addressed byremoving some of the partially upgraded product, thereby reducing oreliminating the need for externally supplied natural gas.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to rapid thermal processing (RTP™) of aviscous crude feedstock to produce an upgraded product. Morespecifically, this invention relates to an upgrading process andapparatus for producing a bottomless liquid product or other desiredupgraded product from a heavy hydrocarbon feedstock.

In one aspect, the present invention provides a method of producing abottomless product or upgraded product from a heavy hydrocarbonfeedstock, for example, a heavy oil or bitumen, comprising:

a) upgrading or thermally converting the heavy hydrocarbon feedstock bya method comprising:

-   -   i) providing a particulate heat carrier into an upflow reactor;    -   ii) introducing the heavy hydrocarbon feedstock into the upflow        reactor at at least one location above that of the particulate        heat carrier so that a loading ratio of the particulate heat        carrier to the heavy hydrocarbon feedstock is from about 10:1 to        about 200:1, wherein the upflow reactor is run at a temperature        of from about 300° C. to about 700° C., and    -   iii) allowing the heavy hydrocarbon feedstock to interact with        the particulate heat carrier with a residence time of less than        about 20 seconds, to produce a product mixture comprising a        product stream and the particulate heat carrier;

b) separating the product stream and the particulate heat carrier; and

c) obtaining a bottomless or upgraded product from the product streamusing a vacuum tower.

Prior to step a)i), a pre-upgrading separation step can be added toseparate light portions of the feedstock from heavy portions. Thisprocess results in a first light portion and a first heavy portion. Thefirst heavy portion of the feedstock can then be used as the feedstockfor step a)ii). The first light portion can be later combined with thebottomless or upgraded product obtained in step (c) as desired. Prior tothe step of separating (step b), a mixture comprising the product streamand the particulate heat carrier may be removed from the reactor.Furthermore, after the step of separating (step b), a gaseous productand a liquid product, the liquid product comprising a light fraction anda heavy fraction, may be collected from the product stream. Theparticulate heat carrier, after the step of separating (step b), may beregenerated in a reheater to form a regenerated particulate heatcarrier, and the regenerated particulate heat carrier may be recycled tothe upflow reactor.

The present invention also pertains to the above-defined method, whichfurther comprises:

-   -   determining the energy requirements of an oil production        facility, and based on the determined energy requirements of the        consumer or the market demands of the upgraded product, either:        -   i) transporting all of the heavy fraction of the product            stream to the oil production facility for conversion into a            form of energy,        -   ii) transporting a fraction of the heavy fraction of the            product stream to the oil production facility for conversion            into a form of energy and recycling a remaining fraction of            the heavy fraction to the upflow reactor for further            processing within a recycle pyrolysis run to produce a            recycle product stream, or        -   iii) recycling all of the heavy fraction of the product            stream to the upflow reactor for further processing within a            recycle pyrolysis run to produce a recycle product stream.

Alternatively, following determining the energy requirements of an oilproduction facility, either:

-   -   i′) converting all of the heavy fraction of the product stream        into a form of energy and transporting the energy to the oil        production facility,    -   ii′) converting a fraction of the heavy fraction of the product        stream into a form of energy and transporting the energy to the        oil production facility and recycling a remaining fraction of        the heavy fraction to the upflow reactor for further processing        within a recycle pyrolysis run to produce a recycle product        stream, or    -   iii′) recycling all of the heavy fraction of the product stream        to the upflow reactor for further processing within a recycle        pyrolysis run to produce a recycle product stream.

The present invention also relates to the above-defined methods, whereinthe further processing (within a recycle pyrolysis run to produce arecycle product stream) includes mixing the heavy fraction with theparticulate heat carrier, wherein the particulate heat carrier of therecycle pyrolysis run is at a temperature at about, or above, that usedin the first pyrolysis run (step of upgrading). For example, thetemperature of the upflow reactor within the first pyrolysis run (stepof upgrading) is from about 300° C. to about 590° C., and thetemperature of the upflow reactor within the recycle pyrolysis run isfrom about 430° C. to about 700° C., and wherein the residence time ofthe recycle pyrolysis run is the same as, or longer than, the residencetime of the first pyrolysis run (step of upgrading). In another example,the second step of rapid thermal processing (recycle run) comprisesallowing the heavy fraction to interact with the particulate heatcarrier in the reactor for preferably from about 0.01 to about 20seconds, more preferably from about 0.1 to about 5 seconds, mostpreferably, from about 0.5 to about 3 seconds, wherein the ratio of theparticulate heat carrier to the heavy hydrocarbon feedstock is fromabout 10:1 to about 200:1 to produce the recycle product stream. In afurther example, the particulate heat carrier within the recyclepyrolysis run is separated from the recycle product stream, and arecycle liquid product mixture comprising a recycle light fraction iscollected from the recycle product stream.

The present invention also pertains to the methods describe above,wherein the product stream is treated within a hot condenser prior torecovery of the light fraction and the heavy fraction.

In a further example of the above-defined methods, the upflow reactor isoperated at a temperature in the range from about 450° C. to about 600°C., from about 480° C. to about 590° C., from about 480° C. to about550° C., or from about 530° C. to about 620° C. In addition, in the stepof introducing (step a)ii)), the loading ratio is from about 10:1 toabout 200:1, and more preferably from about 10:1 to about 30:1.

In other examples of the above-described methods, the reheater is run ata temperature in the range from about 600° C. to about 900° C., fromabout 600° C. to about 815° C., or from about 700° C. to about 800° C.

The present invention also pertains to the above-defined methods,wherein prior to the step of upgrading, the feedstock is introduced intoa pre-upgrading separation step that separates a light portion from aheavy component of the feedstock, and the heavy component is subjectedto rapid thermal processing. In a preferred embodiment, the lightcomponent from the pre-upgrading separation step can be combined withthe light fraction derived from a post-upgrading separation step (e.g.in a vacuum tower) to produce a bottomless and/or upgraded product thatmeets the requirements of the market or consumer.

The vacuum tower (or vacuum distillation tower) used as thepost-upgrading separation step in the above-defined methods differs froman atmospheric fractionation system or other atmospheric/condensingcollection vessel in that it functions under vacuum at hightemperatures, to separate and remove a resid (or vacuum resid) componentfrom a relatively lighter liquid component. The vacuum tower isadvantageous in that it is effective at obtaining a narrower cut of theresid component thereby increasing the yield of lighter, more valuableliquid components obtained from the upgrading step. This allows for thecreation of an end product that is easier to transport. Creation of abottomless product or very low resid product has the added benefit ofallowing the end product to be sent to a refinery that does not have acoker or other resid handling capabilities. In a further embodiment, oneor more of the light portions can be used as a quenching agent in theupgrading system.

In addition, the product produced can be tailored to the needs of themarket or consumer. For example, the quality of the end product can beadjusted by altering the number of passes through the system. In a firstembodiment, a pre-upgrading separation step creates a first lightportion and a first heavy portion. The first heavy portion can then beused as the heavy hydrocarbon feedstock, which is then upgraded. Theupgrading process creates a top and bottom product, wherein the topproduct generally has a boiling point of less than 350-400° C. and thebottom product generally has a boiling point above 350-400° C. Thebottom product can be processed in a post-upgrading separation step toproduce a second light portion and a second heavy portion. The secondlight portion can be combined with the first light portion to produce toa highly upgraded and/or bottomless product with a very low residpercentage. The second heavy product can be re-processed through thesystem, or as detailed further herein, the heavy product can be used togenerate energy for the system and/or facility. In a further preferredembodiment, a portion of the top product obtained from the fractionatoris fed through a transfer line to act as a quenching agent. The point ofentry of the quenching agent can be in between the hot section and thefractionator or at other points within the system.

Preferably, the bottom product can be sent to one of three pathways,each of which provide varying levels of recycling of the heavy product.The first pathway is to feed the bottom product back into the system atthe feedstock entry point. A second pathway is to process the bottomportion in a post-upgrading separation step, which like the processdescribed above separates the input (in this case the bottom portion)into a light fraction and a heavy fraction. The third pathway is tocombine the bottom product with the initial crude product in thepre-separation process, which then creates a light portion and a heavyportion, wherein the heavy portion can then be used as or as asupplement to the feedstock. By modifying the process within thesealternative embodiments and pathways, the end upgraded or bottomlessproduct can be tailored based on the preferences of the market andconsumer. For example to convert more the feedstock to a product, arecycling process can be utilized rather than a single pass process.

All or a fraction of the product stream or the resid may be convertedinto a form of energy (e.g. steam) for use by an oil production facilitythereby allowing the process to be modified or tailored to meet theenergy needs of the specific facility. Any of the product stream or theresid that is not converted into a form of energy may be recycled by afurther upgrading step involving rapid thermal processing to produce afurther product mixture that can be separated using the post-upgradingseparation step into a further amount of the bottomless light oilfraction. The method of the present invention is advantageous in that itcan adjust the amount of product stream or resid material that issubmitted for recycling based on the energy requirements of an oilproduction facility. Based on the energy requirements of the oilproduction facility, the amount of the product stream or the resid thatis submitted for recycling may be increased or decreased relative to apreexisting level of recycling. In particular, if the oil productionfacility does not require any external source of energy, then all ormost of the product stream or the resid may be recycled. Conversely, ifthe oil production facility requires a large amount of external energyto support its operation, then a larger portion the product stream orthe resid material may be transported to the oil production facility forconversion into energy, or be directly converted into a form of energy,which is subsequently conducted to the facility. In addition, thefacility preferably is able to obtain additional energy in the form ofcaptured sensible heat due to the close proximity of the conversion unitto the energy consumer.

In a further example, the methods described above may further compriseisolating a VGO from the light fraction.

The present invention also relates to the method as defined above,wherein the temperature of the upflow reactor is less than 750° C.,wherein the residence time is preferably from about 0.01 to about 20seconds, more preferably from about 0.1 to about 5 seconds, mostpreferably, from about 0.5 to about 3 seconds, and wherein theparticulate heat carrier is silica sand.

This invention is also directed to the above method wherein thecontaminants, including Conradson carbon (coke), BS&W, nickel andvanadium are removed or reduced from the feedstock or deposited onto theheat carrier, or captured in the spent flue gas conditioning system.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a system comprising,

i) an upflow reactor comprising:

-   -   a) at least one injector at least one of the plurality of        locations along said upflow reactor, for introducing said heavy        hydrocarbon feedstock into the upflow reactor,    -   b) a particulate heat carrier, the particulate heat carrier        present at a loading ratio of about 10:1 to about 200:1, or,        more particularly from 10:1 to 30:1, with respect to the heavy        hydrocarbon feedstock;    -   c) an inlet for introducing the particulate heat carrier, the        inlet located below the at least one injection means,    -   d) a conversion section within the upflow reactor; and

ii) a vacuum tower.

The systems may further comprise,

-   -   a) a pre-heater for pre-heating the heavy hydrocarbon feedstock;    -   b) a separator at an outlet of the upflow reactor to separate        gaseous and liquid products from the particulate heat carrier;    -   c) a particulate heat carrier regenerator, or reheater;    -   d) a particulate heat carrier recirculation line from the        regeneration means to the reactor inlet for supplying the        particulate heat carrier to the mixing section; and    -   e) a condensing element for cooling, condensing, and collecting        the liquid products;    -   f) further collection means such as demisters, filters and        knock-out vessels; or    -   g) a recycle gas means to supply transport media to the upflow        reactor

The present invention also relates to the above-defined system, whereinthe system and methods can be configured and modified based on theenergy requirements of the oil production facility.

The present invention also relates to the above-defined system, whichfurther comprises a hot condensing element prior to the condensingelement, and, optionally, a heavy fraction product recirculator from thehot condensing element to the at least one injector of the upflowreactor.

The present invention also pertains to the system defined above, whereinthe plurality of locations includes locations distributed along thelength of said reactor.

The resid fraction or a portion of the product stream, producedaccording to the present invention may advantageously be used to supplythe energy needs of an on- or off-site oil production facility, and,therefore, either partially or completely eliminate the need for othermore costly sources of energy, such as natural gas, thereby controllingthe cost of oil extraction. For example, the resid fraction, or aportion of the product stream, may be obtained according to the presentinvention and may be used to partially or completely replace natural gasas a source of energy for generating steam for use in the oil extractionprocess for example, Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD). The residfraction, or a portion of the product stream, obtained as defined hereincan therefore act as an inexpensive, alternate source of energy, whichis produced on-site. This may result in reduced costs of operations.Furthermore, the ability to use energy produced from the by-productstream allows for the system to be tailored to the energy needs of theparticular site or facility.

As noted in more detail below, by processing a heavy hydrocarbonfeedstock using rapid thermal processing in combination with apost-upgrading separation step (e.g. via a vacuum tower), a higher yieldof bottomless product may be obtained. The use of the vacuum towerpermits obtaining a narrower cut of the resid component than isachievable with an atmospheric fractionation column alone. This resultsin an increased yield of lighter, more valuable liquid componentsobtained from the upgrading step. To further increase gas oil yields thevacuum tower may be operated in a deep cut mode in which highercutpoints are implemented. Furthermore, by coupling the processing ofthe heavy hydrocarbon feedstock using rapid thermal processing and avacuum tower, the system may be used on site at an oil productionfacility and the product produced can be tailored to the requirements ofthe market or consumer. Advantageously, using the system of the presentinvention, all or part of the energy requirement of the oil productionfacility may be derived from the liquid product stream or resid producedduring the processing of the heavy hydrocarbon feedstock.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention relates to rapid thermal processing (RTP™) of aviscous crude feedstock to produce an upgraded product. Morespecifically, this invention relates to an upgrading process andapparatus for producing a substantially bottomless liquid product orother desired upgraded from a heavy hydrocarbon feedstock.

FIG. 1 is a schematic drawing of an example of an embodiment of thepresent invention relating to a system for the pyrolytic processing offeedstocks. Lines A-D, and I-L indicate optional sampling ports.

FIG. 2 is a schematic drawing of an example of an embodiment of thepresent invention relating to the feed system for introducing thefeedstock to the system for the pyrolytic processing of feedstocks.

FIG. 3 is a schematic drawing of an example of an embodiment of thepresent invention relating to the feed system for introducing feedstockinto the upgrading process using the system for the pyrolytic processingof feedstocks as described herein.

FIG. 4 is a schematic drawing of an example of an embodiment of thepresent invention relating to the recovery system for obtainingfeedstock to be either collected from a primary condenser, or internalfractionation system and/or recycled back to the upflow reactor.

FIG. 5 is a schematic drawing of an example of an embodiment of thepresent invention relating to an internal fractionation for thepyrolytic processing of feedstocks. Lines A-E, and I-N indicate optionalsampling ports.

FIGS. 6-7 are schematics illustrating examples of processes according tothe present invention of forming a bottomless light oil fraction from aheavy hydrocarbon feedstock and a resid product that may be recycled orused to generate energy for use by an oil production facility.

It should be noted that elements of similar structures or functions aregenerally represented by like reference numerals for illustrativepurpose throughout the figures. It should also be noted that the figuresare only intended to facilitate the description of the preferredembodiments.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention relates to rapid thermal processing (RTP™) of aviscous crude feedstock to produce an upgraded product. Morespecifically, this invention relates to an upgrading process andapparatus for producing a substantially bottomless liquid product orother desired upgraded product from a heavy hydrocarbon feedstock.

The following description is of a preferred embodiment by way of exampleonly and without limitation to the combination of features necessary forcarrying the invention into effect.

The present invention provides a method of producing a bottomlessproduct and/or upgraded product that meets the requirements of themarket or customer from a heavy hydrocarbon feedstock, for example, aheavy oil or bitumen, comprising:

a) upgrading a heavy hydrocarbon feedstock by a method comprising:

-   -   i) providing a particulate heat carrier into an upflow reactor;    -   ii) introducing the heavy hydrocarbon feedstock into the upflow        reactor at at least one location above that of the particulate        heat carrier so that a loading ratio of the particulate heat        carrier to the heavy hydrocarbon feedstock is from about 10:1 to        about 200:1, wherein the upflow reactor is run at a temperature        of from about 300° C. to about 700° C., and    -   iii) allowing the heavy hydrocarbon feedstock to interact with        the heat carrier with a residence time of less than about 20        seconds, to produce a product stream;

b) separating the product stream and the particulate heat carrier fromthe mixture; and

c) obtaining a bottomless product or upgraded product from the productstream using a post-upgrading separation step using, for example, avacuum tower.

Prior to step a)i), a pre-upgrading separation step can be added toseparate light portions of the feedstock from heavy portions. Thisprocess results in a first light portion and a first heavy portion. Thefirst heavy portion of the feedstock can then be used as the feedstockfor step a)ii). The first light portion can be later combined with thebottomless or upgraded product obtained in step (c) as desired. Prior tothe step of separating (step b), a mixture comprising the product streamand the particulate heat carrier may be removed from the reactor.Furthermore, after the step of separating (step b), a gaseous productand a liquid product mixture of a light fraction and a heavy fractionmay be collected from the product stream by cooling and condensing theproduct stream. In a further embodiment, a portion of the light fractioncan be recirculated and used as a quenching material. The particulateheat carrier, after the step of separating (step b), may be regeneratedin a reheater to form a regenerated particulate heat carrier, and theregenerated particulate heat carrier may be recycled to the upflowreactor.

By “bottomless” light fraction or a “bottomless product”, it is meant alight oil fraction which contains less than 7-8%, more particularly lessthan 5%, even more particularly less than 1% of a heavy (vacuum) residcomponent present in a product stream derived from rapid thermalprocessing.

By “feedstock” or “heavy hydrocarbon feedstock”, it is generally meant apetroleum-derived oil of high density and viscosity often referred to(but not limited to) heavy crude, heavy oil, bitumen (including bothnatural and semi-solid forms and manufactured bitumens) or a refineryresid (oil or asphalt). However, the term “feedstock” may also includethe bottom fractions of petroleum crude oils, such as atmospheric towerbottoms or vacuum tower bottoms. It may also include oils derived fromcoal and shale. Furthermore, the feedstock may comprise significantamounts of BS&W (Bottom Sediment and Water), for example, but notlimited to, a BS&W content of greater than 0.5 wt %. Heavy oil andbitumen are preferred feedstocks.

For the purpose of application the feedstocks may be characterized ashaving

i) high TAN, low sulfur content,

ii) low TAN, high sulfur content,

iii) high TAN, high sulfur content, or

iv) low TAN, low sulfur content.

These heavy oil and bitumen feedstocks are typically viscous anddifficult to transport. Bitumens typically comprise a large proportionof complex polynuclear hydrocarbon asphaltenes that add to the viscosityof this feedstock and some form of pretreatment of this feedstock isrequired for transport. Such pretreatment typically includes dilution insolvents prior to transport.

Typically tar-sand derived feedstocks (see Example 1 for an analysis ofexamples, which are not to be considered limiting, of such feedstocks)are pre-processed prior to upgrading, as described herein, in order toconcentrate bitumen. However, pre-processing of oil sand bitumen mayinvolve methods known within the art, including hot or cold watertreatments, or solvent extraction that produces a bitumen gas-oilsolution. These pre-processing treatments typically separate bitumenfrom the sand. For example, one such water pre-processing treatmentinvolves the formation of a tar-sand containing bitumen-hot water/NaOHslurry, from which the sand is permitted to settle, and more hot wateris added to the floating bitumen to dilute out the base and ensure theremoval of sand. Cold water processing involves crushing oil sand inwater and floating it in fuel oil, then diluting the bitumen withsolvent and separating the bitumen from the sand-water residue. Suchbitumen products are candidate feedstocks for further processing asdescribed herein.

Bitumens may be upgraded using the process of this invention, or otherprocesses such as FCC, viscraking, hydrocracking etc. Pre-treatment oftar sand feedstocks may also include hot or cold water treatments, forexample, to partially remove the sand component prior to upgrading thefeedstock using the process as described herein, or other upgradingprocesses including dewaxing (using rapid thermal processing asdescribed herein), FCC, hydrocracking, coking, visbreaking etc.Therefore, it is to be understood that the term “feedstock” alsoincludes pre-treated feedstocks, including, but not limited to thoseprepared as described above.

Lighter feedstocks may also be processed following the method of theinvention as described herein. For example, and as described in moredetail below, liquid products obtained from a first pyrolytic treatmentas described herein, may be further processed by the method of thisinvention (for example recycle and partial recycle processing; see FIG.5 and Examples 3 and 4) to obtain a liquid product characterized ashaving reduced viscosity, a reduced metal (especially nickel, vanadium)and water content, and a greater API gravity. Furthermore, liquidproducts obtained from other processes as known in the art may also beused as feedstocks for the process described herein. Therefore, thepresent invention also contemplates the use of lighter feedstocksincluding gas oils, vacuum gas oils, topped crudes or pre-processedliquid products, obtained from heavy oils or bitumens. These lighterfeedstocks may be treated using the process of the present invention inorder to upgrade these feedstocks for further processing using, forexample, but not limited to, FCC, hydrocracking, etc.

The liquid product arising from the process as described herein may besuitable for transport within a pipeline to permit its furtherprocessing elsewhere, or processed on-site using a vacuum tower toobtain a bottomless product and/or upgraded product. The productproduced using the present method may also be directly inputted into aunit capable of further upgrading the feedstock, such as, but notlimited to coking, visbreaking, or hydrocraking. In this capacity, thepyrolytic reactor coupled with the vacuum tower of the present inventionpartially upgrades the feedstock while acting as a pre-treater of thefeedstock for further processing. In addition, the bottomless productthat can be produced using the methods and systems described herein hasthe further advantage that it can be more easily transported via apipeline and be processed at a refinery lacking a coker.

The feedstocks of the present invention are processed using a fastpyrolysis reactor. Other known riser reactors with short residence timesmay also be employed. The reactor may also be run at a temperature offrom about 450° C. to about 600° C., or from about 480° C. to about 550°C. The contact times between the heat carrier and feedstock ispreferably from about 0.01 to about 20 seconds, more preferably fromabout 0.1 to about 5 seconds, most preferably, from about 0.5 to about 3seconds.

A heat carrier may be a particulate solid, preferably sand, for example,silica sand. By silica sand it is meant any sand comprising greater thanabout 80% silica, preferably greater than about 95% silica, and morepreferably greater than about 99% silica. It is to be understood thatthe above composition is an example of a silica sand that can be used asa heat carrier as described herein, however, variations within theproportions of these ingredients within other silica sands may exist andstill be suitable for use as a heat carrier. Other known particulateheat carriers or contact materials, for example kaolin clays, zirconium,rutile, low surface area alumina, oxides of magnesium and calcium mayalso be used.

Any water present in the feedstock vaporises in the reactor duringpyrolysis of the feedstock, and forms part of the product stream. Thiswater along with any steam used for feedstock atomization may berecovered by using a recovery unit such as a liquid/vapour separator ora refrigeration unit present, for example, at a location downstream ofthe condensing columns (for example, condensers 40 and 50 of FIG. 1) andbefore the demisters (for example, demisters 60 of FIG. 1), or at anenhanced recovery unit (45; FIG. 1), after the demisters.

Processing of feedstocks using fast pyrolysis results in the productionof product vapours and solid byproducts associated with the heatcarrier. After separating the heat carrier from the product mixture, theproduct vapours may be condensed to obtain a liquid product stream andgaseous by-products. For example, which is not to be consideredlimiting, the liquid product produced from the processing of heavy oil,and prior to any separation, for example using a vacuum tower, asdescribed herein, is characterized in having the following properties:

-   -   a final boiling point of less than about 660° C., preferably        less than about 600° C., and more preferably less than about        540° C.;    -   an API gravity of at least about 12, and preferably greater than        about 17 (where API gravity=[141.5/specific gravity]−131.5; the        higher the API gravity, the lighter the material);    -   greatly reduced metals content, including V and Ni;    -   greatly reduced viscosity levels (more than 25 fold lower than        that of the preferred feedstock, for example, as determined @        40° C.), and    -   yields of liquid product of at least 60 vol %, preferably the        yields are greater than about 70 vol %, and more preferably they        are greater than about 80%.

Following the methods as described herein, a liquid product obtainedfrom processing bitumen feedstock, and prior to any separation, which isnot to be considered limiting, is characterized as having:

-   -   an API gravity from about 8 to about 25;    -   greatly reduced metals content, including V and Ni;    -   a greatly reduced viscosity of more than 20 fold lower than the        feedstock (for example as determined at 40° C.), and    -   yields of liquid product of at least 60 vol %, preferably the        yields are greater than about 75 vol %.

The liquid products described above are then processed using apost-upgrading separation step (for example using a vacuum tower) toobtain an upgraded product with a reduced resid content and/or abottomless product depending on the preferences of the market andconsumer.

A first method for upgrading a feedstock to obtain liquid products fromwhich an upgraded, lower resid product and/or bottomless product may beobtained using a vacuum tower, involves a single pass process. Withreference to FIG. 1, briefly, the fast pyrolysis system includes a feedsystem generally indicated as (10; also see FIGS. 2 and 3), that injectsthe feedstock into a reactor (20), a heat carrier separation system thatseparates the heat carrier from the product vapour (e.g. 100 and 180,FIG. 1) and recycles the heat carrier to the reheating/regeneratingsystem (30), a particulate inorganic heat carrier reheating system (30)that reheats and regenerates the heat carrier, and primary (40) andsecondary (50) condensers that collect the product. Alternatively, afractionation column, for example but not limited to an atmosphericfractionation column (discussed in more detail below), may be used inplace of separate condensers to collect the product from vapour. Inaddition, more than one fractionation column may be used to process thefeedstock. In another example, a vacuum tower may be used alone or inconjunction with a fractionation separation step or primary andsecondary condensers or other collection system to collect the productfrom the vapour, and then used to separate a bottomless light fractionand a heavy fraction (e.g. resid) from the product. The end productproduced can be varied depending on the preferences of the market and/orconsumer. For example, an end product with a lower resid percentage canbe generated by a process which employs a greater degree of recyclingduring the upgrading process. Thus, a single pass process will typicallygenerate an end product with a higher resid percentage than if arecycling or partially recycling process is used.

Preferably, prior to the upgrading process, the initial feedstock orcrude is processed in a pre-upgrading separation step. Thispre-upgrading separation step creates a first light fraction and a firstheavy fraction. As discussed further below, the first light fraction canbe added to the light product produced during fractionation to create abottomless or very low resid product. The first heavy portion can beused as the feedstock for the upgrading process.

The pre-heated feedstock enters the reactor below the mixing zone (170)and is contacted by the upward flowing stream of hot carrier within atransport fluid, that typically is a recycle gas supplied by a recyclegas line (210). The feedstock may be obtained after passage through afractionation column, where a gaseous component of the feedstock isremoved, and the non-volatile component is transported to the reactorfor further processing. Rapid mixing and conductive heat transfer fromthe heat carrier to the feedstock takes place in the short residencetime conversion section of the reactor. The feedstock may enter thereactor through at least one of several locations along the length ofthe reactor. The different entry points indicated in FIGS. 1 and 2 arenon-limiting examples of such entry locations. By providing severalentry points along the length of the reactor, the length of theresidence time within the reactor may be varied. For example, for longerresidence times, the feedstock enters the reactor at a location lowerdown the reactor, while, for shorter residence times, the feedstockenters the reactor at a location higher up the reactor. In all of thesecases, the introduced feedstock mixes with the upflowing heat carrierwithin a mixing zone (170) of the reactor. The product vapours producedduring pyrolysis are cooled and collected using a suitable condensermeans (40, 50, FIG. 1) and/or a fractionation column, to obtain a liquidproduct. In a preferred embodiment, a vacuum tower may be used alone orin conjunction with primary and secondary condensers and/or afractionation separation step to collect the product from the vapour,and then used to separate a substantially bottomless light fraction anda heavy fraction (e.g. resid) from the product as described in furtherdetail above. Use of a vacuum tower has the advantage of being betterable to separate the light portions of the vapours from the heavyportion, thereby leading to a product with a lower resid percentage. Ina further embodiment, the light liquid fraction can be used as aquenching material. The use of the light liquid fraction has theadvantage that since it is composed of a low or resid-free fractions,there is a lower propensity to form coke. Therefore, the use of lighter,lower resid materials as a quenching agent is preferable to agentshaving a higher resid percentage.

A bottom product can be collected and isolated using a condensing systemand/or a fractionation separation step during pyrolysis and can be usedto generate energy for the oil production facility as described herein.In a further embodiment, the bottom product, which generally boils at atemperature higher than 300-400° C., is recycled or partially recycledthrough the system using one of three pathways. In a first pathway, thebottom product can be used as the feedstock and/or added to the heavyfeedstock and can be reprocessed through the hot system. In a secondpathway, the bottom product can processed by a post-upgrading separationstep to create a light cut and heavy cut. The light cut can be added tothe other light fractions produced and/or be used as a quenching agent.The heavy cut can be used to generate energy and/or be further recycled.The third pathway for the bottom product is to process the bottomproduct in the pre-upgrading separation step, which creates a light cutand a heavy cut that can be further transferred/processed.

In a further embodiment, (FIG. 5), crude can be added to the internalupgrading fractionator or condensing system directly to provide aninternal cut of a light portion and a heavy portion. The heavy or bottomportion can be directed to the upflow reactor, and/or the post upgradingfractionation system, and/or to an appropriate energy conversion system.

It is to be understood that other fast pyrolysis systems, comprisingdifferences in reactor design, that utilize alternative heat carriers,heat carrier separators, different numbers or size of condensers, ordifferent condensing means, may be used for the preparation of theupgraded product of this invention. The reactor is preferably run at atemperature of from about 450° C. to about 600° C., more preferably fromabout 480° C. to about 550° C.

Following pyrolysis of the feedstock in the presence of the heatcarrier, coke containing contaminants present within the feedstock aredeposited onto the heat carrier. These contaminants include metals (suchas nickel and vanadium), nitrogen and sulfur. The heat carrier thereforerequires regeneration before re-introduction into the reaction stream.The heat carrier is regenerated in the sand reheater or regenerator (30,FIGS. 1 and 5). The heat carrier may be regenerated via combustionwithin a fluidized bed of the sand reheater (30) at a temperature ofabout 600° C. to about 900° C., preferably from 600° C. to 815° C., morepreferably from 700° C. to 800° C. Furthermore, as required, depositsmay also be removed from the heat carrier by an acid treatment. Theheated, regenerated, heat-carrier is then re-introduced to the reactor(20) and acts as heat carrier for fast pyrolysis.

The feed system (10, FIG. 2) provides a preheated feedstock to thereactor (20). An example of a feed system which is not to be consideredlimiting in any manner, is shown in FIG. 2, however, other embodimentsof the feed system are within the scope of the present invention, forexample but not limited to a feed pre-heater unit as shown in FIG. 5(discussed below), and may be optionally used in conjunction with a feedsystem (10; FIG. 5). The feed system (generally shown as 10, FIG. 2) isdesigned to provide a regulated flow of pre-heated feedstock to thereactor unit (20). The feed system shown in FIG. 2 includes a feedstockpre-heating surge tank (110), heated using external band heaters (130)to 80° C., and is associated with a recirculation/transfer pump (120).The feedstock is constantly heated and mixed in this tank at 80° C. Thehot feedstock is pumped from the surge tank to a primary feed tank(140), also heated using external band heaters (130), as required.However, it is to be understood that variations on the feed system mayalso be employed, in order to provide a heated feedstock to the reactor.The primary feed tank (140) may also be fitted with arecirculation/delivery pump (150). Heat traced transfer lines (160) aremaintained at about 100-300° C. and pre-heat the feedstock prior toentry into the reactor via an injection nozzle (70, FIG. 2). Atomizationat the injection nozzle (70) positioned near the mixing zone (170)within reactor (20) may be accomplished by any suitable means. Thenozzle arrangement should provide for a homogeneous dispersed flow ofmaterial into the reactor. For example, which is not considered limitingin any manner, mechanical pressure using single-phase flow atomization,or a two-phase flow atomization nozzle may be used. With a two-phaseflow atomization nozzle, steam or recycled by-product gas may be used asa carrier. Instrumentation is also dispersed throughout this system forprecise feedback control (e.g. pressure transmitters, temperaturesensors, DC controllers, 3-way valves gas flow meters etc.) of thesystem.

Conversion of the feedstock is initiated in the mixing zone (170; e.g.FIGS. 1 and 2) under moderate temperatures (typically less than 750° C.,preferably from about 450° C. to about 600° C., more preferably fromabout 480° C. to about 550° C.) and continues through the conversionsection within the reactor unit (20) and connections (e.g. piping, ductwork) up until the primary separation system (e.g. 100) where the bulkof the heat carrier is removed from the product vapour stream. The solidheat carrier and solid coke by-product are removed from the productvapour stream in a primary separation unit. Preferably, the productvapour stream is separated from the heat carrier as quickly as possibleafter exiting from the reactor (20), so that the residence time of theproduct vapour stream in the presence of the heat carrier is as short aspossible.

The primary separation unit may be any suitable solids separationdevice, for example but not limited to a cyclone separator, a U-Beamseparator, or Rams Horn separator as are known within the art. A cycloneseparator is shown diagrammatically in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4. The solidsseparator, for example a primary cyclone (100), is preferably fittedwith a high-abrasion resistant liner. Any solids that avoid collectionin the primary collection system are carried downstream and may berecovered in a secondary separation unit (180). The secondary separationunit may be the same as the primary separation unit, or it may comprisean alternate solids separation device, for example but not limited to acyclone separator, a ¼ turn separator, for example a Rams Hornseparator, or an impingement separator, as are known within the art. Asecondary cyclone separator (180) is graphically represented in FIGS. 1and 4, however, other separators may be used as a secondary separationunit.

The solids that have been removed in the primary and/or secondarycollection systems are transferred to a vessel for regeneration of theheat carrier, for example, but not limited to a direct contact reheatersystem (30). In a direct contact reheater system (30), the coke andby-product gasses are oxidized to provide process thermal energy that isdirectly carried to the solid heat carrier (e.g. 310, FIGS. 1, 5), aswell as regenerating the heat carrier. The temperature of the directcontact reheater is maintained independent of the feedstock conversion(reactor) system. However, as indicated above, other methods for theregeneration of the heat carrier may be employed, for example but notlimited to acid treatment.

The hot product stream from the secondary separation unit may bequenched in a primary collection column (or primary condenser, 40; FIG.1). The vapour stream is rapidly cooled from the conversion temperatureto less than about 400° C. Preferably the vapour stream is cooled toless than about 350° C.-400° C. Product is drawn from the primary columnand may be pumped (220) into product storage tanks, and/or recycledwithin the reactor as described below and/or directed to thepre-upgrading separation step and/or directed to the post-upgradingseparation step, and/or directed to an appropriate conversion unit forenergy recovery. A secondary condenser (50) can be used to collect anymaterial (225) that evades the primary condenser (40). Product drawnfrom the secondary condenser (50) is also pumped (230) into productstorage tanks and/or used as a quenching media as described below. Theremaining non-condensible gas is compressed in a blower (190) and aportion is returned to the heat carrier regeneration system (30) vialine (200), and the remaining gas is returned to the reactor (20) byline (210) and acts as a heat carrier, and transport medium.

The hot product stream may be quenched in the transfer line between thehot section and the fractionation or separation column and/or directlyin the fractionation or separation column or in any column designed toprovide different sections of liquid and a vapour overhead. Anon-limiting example of a fractionation column is an atmosphericfractionation column, which provide three different sections for liquidrecovery. However, fractionation columns comprising fewer or greaternumber of sections for liquid recovery may also be used.

The bottom section of the fractionation column can normally produce aliquid stream or bottoms product that is recycled back to the reactorthrough line 270. In a preferred embodiment, the bottom product isrecycled or partially recycled through the system using one of threepathways. In a first pathway, the bottom product can be used as thefeedstock and/or added to the heavy feedstock and be reprocessed throughthe hot system. In a second pathway, the bottom product can be processedby a post-upgrading separation step to create a light cut and heavy cut.The light cut can be added to the other light fractions produced and/orbe used as a quenching agent. The heavy cut can be used to generateenergy and/or be further recycled. The third pathway for the bottomproduct is to process the bottom product in the pre-upgrading separationstep, which creates a light cut and a heavy cut that can be furthertransferred/processed. The selection of which the three pathways areused can be modified as desired based on the preferences of the marketand consumer.

In another embodiment, the vapors from this bottom section, which arealso termed volatile components, are sent to a middle section that canproduce a stream that is cooled and sent to product storage tanks. Thevapors, or volatile components, from the middle section are directed tothe top section. The top section can produce a crude material that canbe cooled and directed to product storage tanks, or used for quenchingin the middle or top sections. Excess liquids present in this column arecooled and sent to product storage, and vapors from the top of thecolumn can be further collected in downstream condensers, and/ordemisters, and/or filters, and/or knockout drums. Non condensable gas isused for recycle gas needs. Cooled liquid from the top and/or middlesection can be used as a vapour transfer line quenching media.

The fractionation column is typically run at or near atmosphericpressure. The fractionation column is generally configured to recoverand collect the majority (i.e. >80%) of the liquid product produced bythe rapid thermal processing step. 5-20% of the produced liquid productmay, however, escape from the top of the fractionation column, but canbe collected in one or more downstream collectors/condensers, demisters,and/or knockout vessels. In general, materials boiling at a temperatureof about 300° C.-400° C. and above are collected in the bottom of thefractionation column and materials boiling below 300° C.-400° C. arecollected in the top of the condenser and/or downstream collectiondevices. The materials collected at the bottom of the fractionationcolumn may be directed to a downstream vacuum tower or to one of thethree pathways discussed above.

In another example, the hot product vapours may be collected in one ormore condensers, which are coupled with a vacuum tower, or anatmospheric fractionation column coupled with a vacuum tower, or may becollected in a vacuum tower alone. The vacuum tower can then be used toseparate the product stream into a light fraction as a bottomlessproduct and a heavy fraction (i.e. “resid” or “vacuum resid”; typicallymaterials boiling above about 535° C.-565° C.).

In a further example, the raw feedstock is introduced into afractionation column, prior to the step of upgrading (pre-fractination),to separate a light liquid component of the feedstock and a heavycomponent. The heavy component derived from the raw feedstock is thensubjected to the step of upgrading using rapid thermal processing. Thehot product vapours derived from the upgrading step are then collectedin one or more condensers, which are coupled with a vacuum tower, or anatmospheric fractionation column coupled with a vacuum tower, orcollected in a vacuum tower alone. The vacuum tower can then be used toseparate the product stream into a light fraction as a substantiallybottomless product and a heavy fraction (i.e. “resid” or “vacuum resid”)and the light component initially derived from the raw feedstock iscombined with the light fraction derived from the vacuum tower followingthe step of upgrading.

The vacuum tower generally differs from other fractionation means inthat heat must be added to a hydrocarbon stream and high temperaturesunder vacuum at high temperatures, to separate and remove a “resid”component (“vacuum resid”) from a relatively lighter liquid component.Conversely, the fractionation column internally associated with theupgrading system functions as a cooler/condenser that removes heat fromthe product stream at essentially atmospheric pressure and intermediatetemperatures. The vacuum tower provides an improved cut over theinternal fractionating column or condensing system in that it operatesunder vacuum and can, therefore, effectively separate high boilingmaterial (e.g. material having a boiling point of greater than 535° C.)from the desired lighter distillate products. The vacuum tower thereforeenables the present system and methods to achieve a bottomless and/orvery low resid product, wherein the resid percentage can be tailored tomeet the requirements of the market or consumer. In general, to obtainmore bottomless or lower resid product, greater single pass conversionis employed and/or during pyrolysis bottom material is recycled and/orpartially recycled via one of three pathways as discussed herein. Thiswill result in additional steps of separating light and heavy fractions,wherein the light fractions can be aggregated to form a composite endproduct having a resid percentage within a range desired by the marketor consumer.

The resid fraction, or a portion of the product stream, producedaccording to the method of the present invention can act as a sole orsupplementary source of energy for supplying the energy needs of an oilproduction facility. The resid fraction, or portion of the productstream, may therefore partially or completely eliminate the need forother more costly sources of energy, such as natural gas, which areneeded in oil extraction processes, thereby advantageously controllingthe cost of oil extraction. The resid fraction, or portion of theproduct stream, may be converted to a form of energy either on- oroffsite of the oil production facility. The amount of energy requiredfor an oil production facility may be regulated by market and consumerrequirements. The methods of the present invention typically generate auseable amount of CO₂, such that in a further embodiment, the CO₂generated can be used for enhanced oil recovery using methods known inthe art.

The methods of the present invention is configured to determine theenergy requirements of an oil production facility and based on thedetermined energy requirements, direct either:

-   -   i) transportation of all of the heavy fraction of the product        stream to the oil production facility (for conversion into a        form of energy, such as steam or electricity),    -   ii) transportation of a fraction of the heavy fraction of the        product stream to the oil production facility for conversion        into a form of energy (e.g. steam or electricity) and recycling        a remaining fraction of the heavy fraction to the upflow reactor        for further processing within a recycle pyrolysis run to produce        a recycle product stream, or iii) recycling of all of the heavy        fraction of the product stream to the upflow reactor for further        processing within a recycle pyrolysis run to produce a recycle        product stream.

Alternatively, based on the determined energy requirements, the methodmay direct either:

-   -   i) conversion of all of the heavy fraction of the product stream        into a form of energy (e.g. such as steam or electricity) and        transportation of the energy to the oil production facility,    -   ii) conversion of a fraction of the heavy fraction of the        product stream into a form of energy (e.g. such as steam or        electricity), transportation of the energy to the oil production        facility and recycling a remaining fraction of the heavy        fraction to the upflow reactor for further processing within a        recycle pyrolysis run to produce a recycle product stream, or    -   iii) recycling of all of the heavy fraction of the product        stream to the upflow reactor for further processing within a        recycle pyrolysis run to produce a recycle product stream.

In addition to the resid fraction, further sources of energy produced bythe method of the present invention, include, but are not limited to,coke produced by the upgrading of the heavy hydrocarbon feedstock orproduced by recycling of product derived from the upgrading of the heavyhydrocarbon feedstock, by-product gas derived from the step of upgradingor heavy bottom material separated by a fractionation column or acondenser. All or a portion of these further sources of energy may alsobe converted to energy for use by an oil production facility dependingon the needs of the facility, in addition, or independently of anyenergy produced from the resid fraction.

An amount of the heavy fraction of the product stream that is notallocated for energy production may be directed to the reheater forconversion to usable energy (e.g., steam and/or electricity).

In a further example, the raw feedstock is introduced into apre-upgrading separation step, to separate a volatile component of thefeedstock from a liquid mixture derived from the feedstock, whichcomprises a light component and a heavy component. The heavy componentderived from the raw feedstock is then subjected to the step ofupgrading using rapid thermal processing. The hot product vapoursderived from the upgrading step are then collected in one or morecondensers, which are coupled with a vacuum tower, or a fractionationcolumn coupled with a vacuum tower, or collected in a vacuum toweralone. The vacuum tower can then be used to separate the product streaminto a light fraction as a substantially bottomless product and a heavyfraction (i.e. “resid” or “vacuum resid”) and the light componentinitially derived from the raw feedstock is combined with the lightfraction derived from the vacuum tower following the step of upgrading.

In a particular example illustrated in FIG. 6, a heavy hydrocarbonfeedstock (400) is subjected to rapid thermal processing in an RTP™reactor (410) according to the present invention to produce an upgradedproduct mixture (420), which is collected in one or more condensingelements (430), which are coupled with a vacuum tower (440). The vacuumtower (440) is then used to separate the upgraded product mixture (420)into a substantially bottomless light oil fraction (450) and a heavyfraction (460; “resid” or “vacuum resid”). All or a fraction of theresid (460) may be converted into a form of energy (e.g. steam) for useby an oil production facility. Similarly, some or all of the productstream obtained after the condensing elements (430) may also be used forenergy requirements within the oil producing facility. Any of the residor product stream that is not converted into a form of energy may berecycled by rapid thermal processing to produce a further productmixture that can be separated using the vacuum tower (440) into afurther amount of the bottomless light oil fraction and/or an upgradedproduct produced based on the requirements of the market and consumer.

In a further example illustrated in FIG. 7, a heavy hydrocarbonfeedstock (400) is first separated by a fractionator (470) into a lightoil component (480; L1) and a heavy oil component (490; Resid 1). Theheavy oil component (490) is then subjected to rapid thermal processingin an RTP™ reactor (410) according to the present invention to producean upgraded product mixture (425), which is collected in one or morecondensing elements (430), which are coupled with a vacuum tower (440).The vacuum tower (440) is then used to separate the upgraded productmixture (425) into a substantially bottomless light oil fraction (455;L2) and a heavy oil fraction (510; Resid 2). The two light oil fractions(L1 and L2) are then combined to form a light oil mixture (500). All ora fraction of the heavy fraction (510; Resid 2), or the product stream(upgraded product mixture produced from 425), may be converted into aform of energy (e.g. steam) for use by an oil production facility. Anyof the heavy fraction (510; Resid 2), or product mixture, that is notconverted into a form of energy may be recycled by rapid thermalprocessing to produce a further product mixture that can be separatedusing the vacuum tower (440) into a further amount of the bottomlesslight oil fraction (L2′), which may be combined with the light oilmixture (500).

In an alternative approach, the product stream (320, FIGS. 1, and 3-5)derived from the rapid thermal process as described herein can be feddirectly to a second processing system for further upgrading by, forexample but not limited to, FCC, visbraking, hydrocracking or othercatalytic cracking processes. The product derived from the applicationof the second system can then be collected, for example, in one or morecondensing columns, as described above, or as typically used with thesesecondary processing systems. As another possibility, the product streamderived from the rapid thermal process described herein can first becondensed and then either transported, for example, by pipeline to thesecond system, or coupled directly to the second system.

As another alternative, a primary heavy hydrocarbon upgrading system,for example, FCC, visbraking, hydrocracking or other catalytic crackingprocesses, can be used as a front-end processing system to partiallyupgrade the feedstock. The rapid thermal processing system of thepresent invention can then be used to either further upgrade the productstream derived from the front-end system, or used to upgrade vacuumresid fractions, bottom fractions, or other residual refinery fractions,as known in the art, that are derived from the front-end system (FCC,visbraking, hydrocracking or other catalytic cracking processes), orboth.

It is thought that the chemical upgrading of the feedstock that takesplace within the reactor system as described above is in part due to thehigh loading ratios of heat carrier to feedstock that are used withinthe method of the present invention. Prior art carrier to feed ratiostypically ranged from 5:1 to about 10:1. However, the carrier to feedratios as described herein, are from about 10:1 to about 200:1, resultin a rapid ablative heat transfer from the heat carrier to thefeedstock. The high volume and density of heat carrier within the mixingand conversion zones, ensures that a more even processing temperature ismaintained in the reaction zone. In this way, the temperature rangerequired for the cracking process described herein is better controlled.This also allows for the use of relatively low temperatures to minimizeover cracking, while ensuring that mild cracking of the feedstock isstill achieved. Furthermore, with an increased volume of heat carrierwithin the reactor, contaminants and undesired components present in thefeedstock and reaction by-products, including metals (e.g. nickel andvanadium), coke, and to some extent nitrogen and sulfur, are readilyadsorbed due to the large surface area of heat carrier present. Thisensures efficient and optimal removal of contaminants from thefeedstock, during the pyrolytic processing of the feedstock. As a largersurface area of heat carrier is employed, the heat carrier itself is notunduly contaminated, and any adsorbed metal or coke and the like isreadily stripped during regeneration of the heat carrier. With thissystem the residence times can be carefully regulated in order tooptimize the processing of the feedstock and liquid product yields.

The liquid product arising from the processing of hydrocarbon oil asdescribed herein has significant conversion of the resid fraction whencompared to the feedstock. As a result the liquid product of the presentinvention, produced from the processing of heavy oil is characterized,for example, but which is not to be considered limiting, as having anAPI gravity of at least about 12, and more preferably of at least about17. However, as indicated above, higher API gravities may be achievedwith a reduction in volume. For example, one liquid product obtainedfrom the processing of heavy oil using the method of the presentinvention is characterized as having from about 10 to about 15% byvolume bottoms, from about 10 to about 15% by volume light ends, withthe remainder as middle distillates.

The viscosity of the liquid product produced from heavy oil issubstantially reduced from initial feedstock levels, of from 250 cSt @80° C., to product levels of 4.5 to about 10 cSt @ 80° C., or from about6343 cSt @40° C., in the feedstock, to about 15 to about 35 cSt @40° C.in the liquid product. Following a Single pass process, liquid yields ofgreater than 80 vol % and API gravities of about 17, with viscosityreductions of at least about 25 times that of the feedstock are obtained(@40° C.

Similarly following the methods as described herein, a liquid productobtained from processing bitumen feedstock following a Single passprocess, is characterized as having, and which is not to be consideredas limiting, an increase in API gravity of at least about 10 (feedstockAPI is typically about 8.6). Again, higher API gravities may be achievedwith a reduction in volume. The product obtained from bitumen is alsocharacterised as having a density from about 0.93 to about 1.0 and agreatly reduced viscosity of at least about 20 fold lower than thefeedstock (i.e. from about 15 g/ml to about 60 g/ml at 40° C. in theproduct, v. the feedstock comprising about 1500 g/ml). Yields of liquidproduct obtained from bitumen are at least 60% by vol, and preferablygreater than about 75% by vol.

The liquid product produced as described herein also showed goodstability. Over a 30 day period only negligible changes in SimDistprofiles, viscosity and API for liquid products produced from eitherheavy oil or bitumen feedstocks were found (see Example 1 and 2).

Also as disclosed herein, further processing of the liquid productobtained from the process of heavy oil or bitumen feedstock may takeplace following the method of this invention. Such further processingmay utilize conditions that are very similar to the initial fastpyrolysis treatment of the feedstock, or the conditions may be modifiedto enhance removal of lighter products (a single-stage or single passprocess with a mild crack) followed by additional or more severecracking of the recycled fraction.

In the first instance, that of further processing under similarconditions the liquid product from a first pyrolytic treatment isrecycled back into the pyrolysis reactor to further upgrade theproperties of the final product to produce a lighter product. In thisarrangement the liquid product from the first round of pyrolysis is usedas a feedstock for a second round of pyrolysis after the lighterfraction of the product has been removed from the product stream.Furthermore, a composite recycle may also be carried out where the heavyfraction of the product stream of the first process is fed back(recycled) into the reactor along with the addition of fresh feedstock(e.g. FIG. 3, described in more detail below).

In an example of a recycle or partial recycle process, a vacuum towerused in conjunction with the primary condensor or fractionation columnis used to separate light liquid components from the primary feedstockand from the processed feedstock from relatively heavier residcomponents, and the combined light components are transported to theupflow reactor, where they are subjected to rapid thermal processing.The resid components may be used as an energy source for an oilproduction facility as described above, or be subjected to furtherprocessing to increase the yield of the lighter liquid components.

Recycle and partial recycle processing achieves high conversions of theresid fraction and upgrades the product liquid quality (such as itsviscosity) more than it would be achievable via single stage processing.The recycled feedstock is exposed to conditions that mildly crack thehydrocarbon components in order to avoid overcracking and excess gas andcoke production. An example of these conditions includes, but is notlimited to, injecting the feedstock at about 150° C. into a hot gasstream comprise the heat carrier at the inlet of the reactor. Thefeedstock is processed with a residence time of less than about twoseconds within the reactor at a temperature of between about 450° C. toabout 600° C. Preferably, the residence time is from about 0.8 to about1.3 seconds, and the reactor temperature is from about 480° C. to about550° C. The product, comprising lighter materials (low boilers) isseparated (100, and 180, FIG. 5), and removed in the condensing system(40). The heavier materials (240), separated out at the bottom of thecondenser (40) are collected and reintroduced into the reactor (20) vialine 270. Product gasses that exit the primary condenser (40) enter thesecondary condenser (50) where a liquid product of reduced viscosity andhigh yield (300) is collected (see Example 5 for run analysis using thismethod). With recycled processing, the feedstock is recycled through thereactor to produce a product that can be collected from the condenser orinternal fractionation step, thereby upgrading and optimizing theproperties of the liquid product.

Alternate feeds systems may also be used as required for one, two,composite or multi stage processing. For example, a primary heavyhydrocarbon upgrading system, for example, FCC, visbraking,hydrocracking or other catalytic cracking processes, can be used as afront-end processing system to partially upgrade the feedstock. Therapid thermal processing system of the present invention can then beused to either further upgrade the product stream derived from thefront-end system, or used to upgrade vacuum resid fractions, bottomfractions, or other residual refinery fractions, as known in the art,that are derived from the front-end system (FCC, visbraking,hydrocracking or other catalytic cracking processes), or both.

Therefore, the present invention also provides a method for processing aheavy hydrocarbon feedstock, as outlined in FIG. 5, where the feedstock(primary feedstock or raw feed) is obtained from the feed system (10),and is transported within line (280; which may be heated as previouslydescribed) to a primary condenser (40) or a fractionation column. Theprimary product obtained from the primary condenser/fractionation columnmay also be recycled back to the reactor (20) within a primary productrecycle line (270). The primary product recycle line may be heated ifrequired, and may also comprise a pre-heater unit (290) as shown in FIG.5, to re-heat the recycled feedstock to desired temperature forintroduction within the reactor (20).

Following the recycle process as outlined above and graphicallyrepresented in FIG. 5, product with yields of greater than 60, andpreferably above 75% (wt %), and with the following characteristics,which are not to be considered limiting in any manner, may be producedfrom either bitumen or heavy oil feedstocks: an API from about 14 toabout 19; viscosity of from about 20 to about 100 (cSt @40° C.); and alow metals content (see Example 5).

Collectively these results show that a substantial proportion of thecomponents with low volatility in either of the feedstocks have beenconverted to components of higher volatility (light naphtha, keroseneand diesel) in the liquid product. These results demonstrate that theliquid product can be substantially upgraded to a quality suitable fortransport by pipeline.

The above description is not intended to limit the claimed invention inany manner, furthermore, the discussed combination of features might notbe absolutely necessary for the inventive solution.

The present invention will be further illustrated in the followingexamples. However it is to be understood that these examples are forillustrative purposes only, and should not to be used to limit the scopeof the present invention in any manner.

Example 1 Heavy Oil (Single Pass)

Pyrolytic processing of Saskatchewan Heavy Oil and Athabasca Bitumen(see Table 1) were carried out over a range of temperatures using anupflow transport pyrolysis reactor.

TABLE 1 Characteristics of heavy oil and bitumen feedstocks CompoundHeavy Oil¹⁾ Bitumen²) Carbon (wt %) 84.27 83.31 Hydrogen (wt %) 10.5110.31 Nitrogen (wt %) <0.5 <0.5 Sulfur (st %) 3.6 4.8 Ash (wt %) 0.020.02 Vanadium (ppm) 127 204 Nickel (ppm) 43 82 Water content (wt %) 0.80.19 Gravity API° 11.0 8.6 Viscosity @ 40° C. (cSt) 6500 40000 Viscosity@ 60° C. (cSt) 900 5200 Viscosity @ 80° C. (cSt) 240 900 Aromaticity(C13 NMR) 0.31 0.35 ¹⁾Saskatchewan Heavy Oil ²)Athabasca Bitumen (neat)

Briefly the conditions of processing include a reactor temperature fromabout 500□ to about 620° C. Loading ratios for particulate heat carrier(silica sand) to feedstock of from about 20:1 to about 30:1 andresidence times from about 0.35 to about 0.7 seconds These conditionsare outlined in more detail below (Table 2).

TABLE 2 Single pass processing of Saskatchewan Heavy Oil ReactorViscosity @ Density @ Yield Temp ° C. 40° C. (cSt) Yield wt % 15 g/mlAPI° Vol % 620 4.6¹⁾ 71.5 0.977 13.3 72.7 592 15.2¹⁾ 74.5 0.970 14.476.2 590 20.2 70.8 0.975 13.6 72.1 590 31.6 75.8 0.977 13.3 77.1 56010.0¹⁾ 79.9²⁾ 0.963 15.4 82.3²⁾ 560 10.0¹⁾ 83.0³⁾ 0.963 16.2³⁾ 86.3³⁾550 20.8 78.5 0.973 14.0 80.3 550⁴⁾ 15.7 59.8²⁾ 0.956 16.5 61.5²⁾ 550⁴⁾15.7 62.0³⁾ 0.956 18.3^(2,3) 65.1³⁾ 530 32.2 80.9²⁾ 0.962 15.7 82.8²⁾530 32.2 83.8³⁾ 0.962 16.6³⁾ 87.1³⁾ ¹⁾Viscosity @ 80° C. ²⁾Yields do notinclude overhead condensing ³⁾Estimated yields and API with overheadcondensing ⁴⁾Not all of the liquids were captured in this trial.

The liquid products of the runs at 620° C., 592° C. and 560° C. wereanalysed for metals, water and sulfur content. These results are shownin Table 3. Nickel, Vanadium and water levels were reduced 72, 69 and87%, respectively, while sulfur and nitrogen remained the same or weremarginally reduced. No metals were concentrated in the liquid product.

TABLE 3 Metal Analysis of Liquid Products (ppm)¹⁾ Saskatchewan Run @ Run@ Run @ Component Heavy Oil 620° C. 592° C. 560° C. Aluminum <1 <1 11 <1Iron <1 2 4 <1 Nickel 44 10 12 9 Zinc 2 <1 2 1 Calcium 4 2 3 1 Magnesium3 1 2 <1 Boron 21 42 27 <1 Sodium 6 5 5 4 Silicon 1 10 140 4 Vanadium127 39 43 39 Potassium 7 7 <1 4 Water (wt %) 0.78 0.19 0.06 .10 Sulfur(wt %) 3.6 3.5 3.9 3.5 ¹⁾Copper, tin, chromium, lead, cadmium, titanium,molybdenum, barium and manganese all showed less than 1 ppm in feedstockand liquid products.

The gas yields for two runs are presented in Table 4.

TABLE 4 Gas analysis of Pyrolysis runs Gas (wt %) Run @620° C. Run @560° C. Total Gas Yield 11.8 7.2 Ethylene 27.0 16.6 Ethane 8.2 16.4Propylene 30.0 15.4 Methane 24.0 21.0

The pour point of the feedstock improved and was reduced from 32° F. toabout −54° F. The Conradson carbon reduced from 12. wt % to about 6.6 wt%.

Based on the analysis of these runs, higher API values and productyields were obtained for reactor temperatures of about 530 to about 560°C. At these temperatures, API gravities of 14 to 18.3, product yields offrom about 80 to about 87 vol %, and viscosities of from about 15 toabout 35 cSt (@40° C.) or about 10 cST (@80° C.) were obtained (theyields from the 550° C. run are not included in this range as the liquidyield capture was not optimized during this run). These liquid productsreflect a significant degree of upgrading, and exhibit qualitiessuitable for pipeline transport.

Simulated distillation (SimDist) analysis of feedstock and liquidproduct obtained from several separate runs is given in Table 5. SimDistanalysis followed the protocol outlined in ASTM D 5307-97, which reportsthe residue as anything with a boiling point higher than 538° C. Othermethods for SimDist may also be used, for example HT 750 (NCUT; whichincludes boiling point distribution through to 750° C.). These resultsindicate that over 50% of the components within the feedstock evolve attemperatures above 538° C. These are high molecular weight componentswith low volatility. Conversely, in the liquid product, the majority ofthe components, approx 62.1% of the product are more volatile and evolvebelow 538° C.

TABLE 5 SimDist analysis of feedstock and liquid product after Singlepass processing (Reactor temp 538° C.) Fraction Temp (° C.) FeedstockR245 Light Naphtha  <71 0.0 0.5 Light/med Naphtha  71-100 0.0 0.3 MedNaphtha 100-166 0.0 1.4 Naphtha/Kerosene 166-193 0.1 1.0 Kerosene193-232 1.0 2.8 Diesel 232-327 8.7 14.2 Light VGO 327-360 5.2 6.5 HeavyVGO 360-538 33.5 35.2 Vacuum Resid. >538 51.5 37.9

The feedstock can be further characterized with approx. 0.1% of itscomponents evolving below 193° C. (naphtha/kerosene fraction), v.approx. 6% for the liquid product. The diesel fraction also demonstratessignificant differences between the feedstock and liquid product with8.7% and 14.2% evolving at this temperature range (232-327° C.),respectively. Collectively these results show that a substantialproportion of the components with low volatility in the feedstock havebeen converted to components of higher volatility (light naphtha,kerosene and diesel) in the liquid product.

Stability of the liquid product was also determined over a 30 day period(Table 6). No significant change in the viscosity, API or density of theliquid product was observed of a 30 day period.

TABLE 6 Stability of liquid products after Single pass processingFraction Time = 0 7 days 14 days 30 days Density @ 15.6° C. (g/cm³)0.9592 0.9590 0.9597 0.9597 API (deg. API) 15.9 15.9 15.8 15.8 Viscosity@40° C. (cSt) 79.7 81.2 81.2 83.2

Example 2 Bitumen (Single Pass)

Several runs using Athabasca Bitumen were conducted using the upflowtransport pyrolysis reactor. The conditions of processing included areactor temperature from 520 to about 590° C. Loading ratios forparticulate heat carrier to feedstock of from about 20:1 to about 30:1,and residence times from about 0.35 to about 1.2 seconds Theseconditions, and the resulting liquid products are outlined in moredetail below (Table 7).

TABLE 7 Single pass Processing with Undiluted Athabasca BitumenViscosity Metals Crack @ 40° C. Yield Density Metals V Ni Temp (cSt) wt% @ 15° C. (ppm)* (ppm)** API 519° C. 205 81.0 nd nd nd 13.0 525° C. 20174.4 0.979 88 24 12.9 528° C. 278 82.7 nd nd nd 12.6 545° C. 151 77.40.987 74 27 11.8 590° C. 25.6 74.6 0.983 nd nd 12.4 *feedstock V 209 ppm**feedstock Ni 86 ppm

These results indicates that undiluted bitumen may be processedaccording to the method of this invention to produce a liquid productwith reduced viscosity from greater than 40000 cSt (@40° C.) to about25.6-200 cSt (@40° C. (depending on the run conditions; see also Tables8 and 9), with yields of over 75% to about 85%, and an improvement inthe product API from 8.6 to about 12-13. Again, as per Example 1, theliquid product exhibits substantial upgrading of the feedstock. SimDistanalysis, and other properties of the liquid product are presented inTable 8, and stability studies in Table 9.

TABLE 8 Properties and SimDist analysis of feedstock and liquid productafter Single pass processing (Reactor temp. 545° C.). R239 Fraction Temp(° C.) Feedstock 14 days 30 days Density @15.5° C. — 0.9871 0.9876 API —11.7 11.6 Viscosity @40° C. — 162.3 169.4 Light Naphtha  <71 0.0 0.2 0.1Light/med Naphtha  71-100 0.0 0.2 0.2 Med Naphtha 100-166 0.0 1.5 1.4Naphtha/Kerosene 166-193 0.1 1.0 1.0 Kerosene 193-232 0.9 3.1 3.0 Diesel232-327 8.6 15.8 14.8 Light VGO 327-360 5.2 7.9 7.6 Heavy VGO 360-53834.0 43.9 42.0 Vacuum Resid. >538 51.2 26.4 29.9

TABLE 9 Stability of liquid products after Single pass processing(reactor temperature 525° C.) R232 14 30 Fraction Temp (° C.) Feedstockday 0 7 days days days Density @ — 1.0095 0.979 0.980 0.981 0.981 15.6°C.* API — 8.5 12.9 12.7 12.6 12.6 Viscosity — 30380 201.1 213.9 214.0218.5 @40° C.** Light Naphtha  <71 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 Light/med  71-1000.0 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 Naphtha Med Naphtha 100-166 0.0 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.4Naphtha/Kerosene 166-193 0.1 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.1 Kerosene 193-232 1.0 2.62.6 2.6 2.7 Diesel 232-327 8.7 14.1 14.1 14.3 14.3 Light VGO 327-360 5.27.3 7.3 7.4 7.4 Heavy VGO 360-538 33.5 41.3 41.3 41.7 42.1 VacuumResid. >538 51.5 32.0 32.0 31.2 30.8 *g./cm³ **cSt

The slight variations in the values presented in the stability studies(Table 9 and other stability studies disclosed herein) are within theerror of the test methods employed, and are acceptable within the art.These results demonstrate that the liquid products are stable.

These results indicate that over 50% of the components within thefeedstock evolve at temperatures above 538° C. (vacuum resid fraction).This fraction is characterized by high molecular weight components withlow volatility. Conversely, over several runs, the liquid product ischaracterized as comprising approx 68 to 74% of the product that aremore volatile and evolve below 538° C. The feedstock can be furthercharacterized with approx. 0.1% of its components evolving below 193° C.(naphtha/kerosene fraction), v. approx. 2.7 to 2.9% for the liquidproduct. The diesel fraction also demonstrates significant differencesbetween the feedstock and liquid product with 8.7% (feedstock) and 14.1to 15.8% (liquid product) evolving at this temperature range (232-327°C.). Collectively these results show that a substantial proportion ofthe components with low volatility in the feedstock have been convertedto components of higher volatility (light naphtha, kerosene and diesel)in the liquid product. These results demonstrate that the liquid productis substantially upgraded, and exhibits properties suitable fortransport.

Example 3 Composite/Recycle of Feedstock

The upflow transport pyrolysis reactor may be configured so that therecovery condensers direct the liquid products into the feed line to thereactor (see FIGS. 3 and 4).

The conditions of processing included a reactor temperature ranging fromabout 530 to about 590° C. Loading ratios for particulate heat carrierto feedstock for the initial and recycle run of about 30:1, andresidence times from about 0.35 to about 0.7 seconds were used. Theseconditions are outlined in more detail below (Table 10). Followingpyrolysis of the feedstock, the lighter fraction was removed andcollected using a hot condenser placed before the primary condenser (seeFIG. 4), while the heavier fraction of the liquid product was recycledback to the reactor for further processing (also see FIG. 3). In thisarrangement, the recycle stream (260) comprising heavy fractions wasmixed with new feedstock (270) resulting in a composite feedstock (240)which was then processed using the same conditions as with the initialrun within the pyrolysis reactor.

TABLE 10 Composite/Recycle operation using Saskatchewan Heavy Crude Oiland Undiluted Athabasca Bitumen Crack Recycle⁴⁾ Recycle4) Feedstock Temp° C. Yield Vol % API° Yield vol % API° Heavy Oil 590 77.1¹⁾ 13.3 68.617.1 560 86.3²⁾ 16.2 78.1 21.1 550 50.1¹⁾ 14.0 71.6 17.8 550 65.1^(2,3))18.3 56.4 22.9 530 87.1²⁾ 16.6 78.9 21.0 Bitumen 590 75.2²⁾ 12.4 67.016.0 ¹⁾Yield and API gravity include overhead condensing (actual)²⁾Yield and API gravity include overhead condensing (estimated) ³⁾Notall of the liquid was recovered in this run ⁴⁾These values represent thetotal recovery of product following the recycle run, and presume theremoval of approximately 10% heavy fraction which is recycled toextinction. This is therefore a conservative estimate of yield as someof the heavy fraction will produce lighter components that enter theproduct stream, since not all of the heavy fraction will end up as coke.

The API gravity increased from 11.0 in the heavy oil feedstock to about13 to about 18.5 after the first treatment cycle, and further increasesto about 17 to about 23 after a second recycle treatment. A similarincrease in API is observed for bitumen having a API of about 8.6 in thefeedstock, which increase to about 12.4 after the first run and to 16following the recycle run. With the increase in API, there is anassociated increase in yield from about 77 to about 87% after the firstrun, to about 67 to about 79% following the recycle run. Thereforeassociated with the production of a lighter product, there is a decreasein liquid yield. However, an upgraded lighter product may be desired fortransport, and recycling of liquid product achieves such a product.

Example 4 Recycle Treatment of Heavy Oil

Heavy oil or bitumen feedstock may also be processed using a recyclepyrolytic process which comprises a first stage where the feedstock isexposed to conditions that mildly crack the hydrocarbon components inorder to avoid overcracking and excess gas and coke production. Lightermaterials are removed following the processing in the first stage, andthe remaining heavier materials are subjected to a more severe crack ata higher temperature. The conditions of processing within the firststage include a reactor temperature ranging from about 510 to about 530°C. (data for 515° C. given below), while in the second stage, atemperature from about 590 to about 800° C. (data for 590° C. presentedin table 11) was employed. The loading ratios for particulate heatcarrier to feedstock range of about 30:1, and residence times from about0.35 to about 0.7 seconds for both stages. These conditions are outlinedin more detail below (Table 11).

TABLE 11 Two-Stage Runs of Saskatchewan Heavy Oil Viscosity Crack @ 80°C. Density @ Yield Temp. ° C. (cSt) Yield wt % 15° C. g/ml API° Vol %¹⁾515 5.3 29.8 0.943 18.6 31.4 590 52.6 78.9 0.990 11.4 78.1 515 & 590 Ndnd nd 13.9 86.6 “nd” means not determined ¹⁾Light condensible materialswere not captured. Therefore these values are conservative estimates.

These results indicate that a mild initial crack which avoidsovercracking light materials to gas and coke, followed by a more severecrack of the heavier materials produces a liquid product characterizedwith an increased API, while still exhibiting good product yields.

Other runs using a recycle process, involved injecting the feedstock atabout 150° C. into a hot gas stream maintained at about 515° C. andentering the reactor at about 300° C. (processing temperature). Theproduct, comprising lighter materials (low boilers) was separated andremoved following the first stage in the condensing system. The heaviermaterials, separated out at the bottom of the cyclone were collectedsubjected to a more severe crack within the reactor in order to render aliquid product of reduced viscosity and high yield. The conditionsutilized in the second stage were a processing temperature of betweenabout 530 to about 590° C. Product from the second stage was processedand collected.

Following such a recycle process the product of the first stage (lightboilers) is characterized with a yield of about 30 vol %, an API ofabout 19, and a several fold reduction in viscosity over the initialfeedstock. The product of the high boiling point fraction, producedfollowing the processing of the recycle fraction in the recycle stage,is typically characterized with a yield greater than about 75 vol %, andan API gravity of about 12, and a reduced viscosity over the feedstockrecycled fraction.

Example 5 Recycle Treatment of Heavy Oil and Bitumen, Using Feedstockfor Quenching within Primary Condenser

Heavy oil or bitumen feedstock may also be processed using a recyclepyrolytic process as outlined in FIG. 5. In this system, the upflowtransport pyrolysis reactor is configured so that the primary recoverycondenser directs the liquid product into the feed line back to thereactor, and feedstock is introduced into the system at the primarycondenser where it quenches the product vapours produced duringpyrolysis.

The conditions of processing included a reactor temperature ranging fromabout 530 to about 590° C. Loading ratios for particulate heat carrierto feedstock for the initial and recycle run of from about 20:1 to about30:1, and residence times from about 0.35 to about 1.2 seconds wereused. These conditions are outlined in more detail below (Table 12).Following pyrolysis of the feedstock, the lighter fraction is forwardedto the secondary condenser while the heavier fraction of the liquidproduct obtained from the primary condenser is recycled back to thereactor for further processing (FIG. 5).

TABLE 12 Charaterization of the liquid product obtained followingMulti-Stage processing of Saskatchewan Heavy Oil and Bitumen CrackViscosity Temp. @ 40° C. Density @ Yield ° C. (cSt) Yield wt % 15.6° C.g/ml API° Vol %1) Heavy Oil 543 80 62.6 0.9592 15.9 64.9 557 24 58.90.9446 18.2 62.1 561 53 70.9 0.9568 16.8 74.0 Bitumen 538 40 61.4 0.971814.0 71.1

The liquid products produced from multi-stage processing of feedstockexhibit properties suitable for transport with greatly reduced viscositydown from 6343 cSt (@40° C.) for heavy oil and 30380 cSt (@40° C.) forbitumen. Similarly, the API increased from 11 (heavy oil) to from 15.9to 18.2, and from 8.6 (bitumen) to 14.7. Furthermore, yields for heavyoil under these reaction conditions are from 59 to 68% for heavy oil,and 82% for bitumen.

TABLE 13 Properties and SimDist of liquid products prepared from HeavyOil using the recycle Process (for feedstock properties see Tables 1 and5). Temp R241* R242** Fraction (° C.) Day 0 Day 30 Day 30 R244***Density @ 15.6° C. — 0.9592 0.9597 0.9465 0.9591 API — 15.9 15.8 17.815.9 Viscosity @40° C. — 79.7 83.2 25.0 49.1 Light Naphtha  <71 0.0 0.20.3 0.3 Light/med Naphtha  71-100 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 Med Naphtha 100-1660.1 0.4 2.5 1.8 Naphtha/Kerosene 166-193 0.6 0.6 1.8 1.5 Kerosene193-232 2.8 2.5 5.0 3.5 Diesel 232-327 21.8 21.0 23.1 18.9 Light VGO327-360 10.8 10.2 9.9 8.8 Heavy VGO 360-538 51.1 45.0 44.9 43.2 VacuumResid. >538 12.7 20.0 12.3 21.7 *reactor temp. 543° C. **reactor temp.557° C. ***reactor temp. 561° C.

Under these run conditions the API increased from 11 to about 15.9 to17.8. Product yields of 62.6 (wt %; R241), 58.9 (wt %; R242) and 70.9(wt %; R244) were achieved along with greatly reduced viscosity levels.These liquid products have been substantially upgraded over thefeedstock and exhibit properties suitable for pipeline transport.

SimDist results indicate that over 50% of the components within thefeedstock evolve at temperatures above 538° C. (vacuum resid fraction),while the liquid product is characterized as comprising approx 78 to 87%of the product that are more volatile and evolve below 538° C. Thefeedstock can be further characterized with approx. 0.1% of itscomponents evolving below 193° C. (naphtha/kerosene fraction), v.approx. 1.3 to 4.8% for the liquid product. The kerosene and dieselfractions also demonstrates significant differences between thefeedstock and liquid product with 1% of the feedstock fraction evolvingbetween 193-232° C. v. 2.8 to 5% for the liquid product, and with 8.7%(feedstock) and 18.9 to 23.1% (liquid product) evolving at thistemperature range (232-327° C.; diesel). Collectively these results showthat a substantial proportion of the components with low volatility inthe feedstock have been converted to components of higher volatility(light naphtha, kerosene and diesel) in the liquid product. Theseresults demonstrate that the liquid product is substantially upgraded,and exhibits properties suitable for transport.

TABLE 14 Properties and SimDist of liquid products prepared from Bitumenfollowing “Two Stage” processing (reactor temp. 538° C.; for feedstockproperties see Tables 1, 8 and 9). Fraction Temp (° C.) R243 Density @15.6° C. — 0.9737 API — 13.7 Viscosity @ 40° C. — 45.4 Light Naphtha <71 0.3 Light/med Naphtha  71-100 0.4 Med Naphtha 100-166 3.6Naphtha/Kerosene 166-193 1.9 Kerosene 193-232 4.4 Diesel 232-327 19.7Light VGO 327-360 9.1 Heavy VGO 360-538 41.1 Vacuum Resid. >538 19.5

Under these run conditions the API increased from 8.6 to about 14. Aproduct yield of 68.4 (wt %) was obtained along with greatly reducedviscosity levels (from 30380 cSt @40° C. in the feedstock, to approx. 45cSt in the liquid product).

Simulated distillation analysis demonstrates that over 50% of thecomponents within the feedstock evolve at temperatures above 538° C.(vacuum resid fraction) while 80.5% of the liquid product evolves below538° C. The feedstock can be further characterized with approx. 0.1% ofits components evolving below 193° C. (naphtha/kerosene fraction), v.6.2% for the liquid product. The diesel fraction also demonstratessignificant differences between the feedstock and liquid product with8.7% (feedstock) and 19.7% (liquid product) evolving at this temperaturerange (232-327° C.). Collectively these results show that a substantialproportion of the components with low volatility in the feedstock havebeen converted to components of higher volatility (light naphtha,kerosene and diesel) in the liquid product. These results demonstratethat the liquid product is substantially upgraded, and exhibitsproperties suitable for transport.

Example 6 Further Characterization of Vacuum Gas Oil (VGO)

Vacuum Gas Oil (VGO) was obtained from a range of heavy petroleumfeedstocks, including:

-   -   Athabasca bitumen (ATB; ATB-VGO(243) and ATB-VGO(255))    -   a hydrotreated VGO from Athabasca bitumen (Hydro-ATB);    -   an Athabasca VGO resid blend (ATB-VGO resid);    -   a hydrotreated ATB-VGO resid (Hydro-ATB-VGO resid; obtained from        the same run as ATB-255); and    -   a Kerrobert heavy crude (KHC).

The liquid product following thermal processing of the above feedstockswas distilled to produce a VGO fraction using standard proceduresdisclosed in ASTM D2892 and ASTM D5236.

For hydrotreating the Athabsaca bitumen VGO, the reactor conditions wereas follows:

-   -   reactor temperature 720° F.;    -   reactor pressure 1,500 psig;    -   Space Velocity 0.5;    -   Hydrogen rate 3625 SCFB.

Alaskan North Slope crude oil (ANS) was used for reference.

Properties of these VGOs are presented in Table 15.

TABLE 15 Properties of VGOs obtained from a variety of heavy oilfeedstocks ATB- ATB- ATB- VGO VGO VGO KHC- ANS- Hydro- (243) (255) residVGO VGO ATB-VGO API 13.8 15.2 11.8** 15.5 21.7 22.4 Gravity Sulfur, 3.933.76 4.11** 3.06 1.1 0.27 wt % Aniline 110 125 148-150 119 168 133.4Point, ° F.* *for calculated aniline point see Table 17 **estimated

Cracking characteristics of each of the VGOs were determined usingMicroactivity testing (MAT) under the following conditions (also seeTable 16):

-   -   reaction temperature 1000° F.;    -   Run Time 30 seconds;    -   Cat-to-oil-Ratio 4.5;    -   Catalyst Equilibrium FCC Catalyst.

The results from MAT testing are provided in Table 16, and indicate thatcracking conversion for ATB-VGO (243), is approximately 63%, for KHC-VGOis about 6%, for ANS-VGO it is about 73%, and for Hydro-ATB-VGO is about74%. Furthermore, cracking conversion for Hydro-ATB-VGO resid (obtainedfrom ATB-255) is about 3% on volume higher than the VGO from the samerun (i.e. ATB-VGO (255)). The modeling for the ATB-VGO and hydro-ATB-VGOincorporate a catalyst cooling device to maintain the regeneratortemperature within its operating limits.

TABLE 16 Microactivity Testing (MAT) results ATB-VGO- Hydro-ATB- ATB-VGOATB-VGO243 255 KHC-VGO ANS-VGO VGO 243 resid Catalyst 4.5054 4.51374.5061 4.5064 4.5056 4.5238 Charge (grams) Feed Charge 1.0694 1.0551.0553 1.0188 1 1.0753 (grams) Catalyst/Oil 4.2 4.3 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.2Ratio Preheat 1015 1015 1015 1015 1015 1015 Temperature (° F.) Bed 10001000 1000 1000 1000 1000 Temperature (° F.) Oil Inject 30 30 30 30 30 30Time (seconds) Conversion 62.75% 65.69% 65.92% 73.02% 74.08% 65.24% (Wt%) Normalized (Wt %) H₂S 2.22% 2.28% 1.90% 0.79% 0.13% 2.43% H₂ 0.19%0.16% 0.18% 0.17% 0.24% 0.16% CH₄ 1.44% 1.24% 1.33% 1.12% 1.07% 1.34%C₂H₂ 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% C₂H₄ 1.01% 0.94% 1.05% 0.97%0.93% 0.91% C₂H₆ 1.03% 0.86% 0.94% 0.76% 0.66% 0.94% C₃H₄ 0.00% 0.00%0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% C₃H₆ 4.11% 3.99% 4.39% 5.15% 4.55% 3.73% C₃H₆1.01% 1.01% 1.06% 1.16% 1.01% 1.00% C₄H₆ 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%0.00% 1-C₄H₈ 0.90% 1.71% 1.02% 1.19% 1.09% 0.81% 1-C₄H₈ 0.96% 0.69%0.92% 1.05% 0.83% 0.79% c-2-C₄H₈ 0.69% 0.69% 0.81% 0.97% 0.80% 0.65%t-2-C₄H₈ 0.98% 0.43% 1.13% 1.36% 1.14% 0.91% 1-C₄H₁₀ 2.58% 2.65% 3.20%4.31% 4.59% 2.44% N-C₄H₁₀ 0.38% 0.48% 0.50% 0.65% 0.63% 0.48% C5-430° F.39.53% 43.54% 42.35% 49.10% 52.67% 41.97% 430° F.-650° F. 23.29% 22.50%22.30% 18.75% 18.92% 22.60% 650° F.-800° F. 10.71% 8.86% 9.03% 6.06%5.27% 8.85% 800° F. 3.24% 2.94% 2.75% 2.17% 1.74% 3.31% Coke 5.73% 5.04%5.13% 4.28% 3.73% 6.69% Material 97.93% 98.04% 98.03% 96.59% 97.10%98.16% Balance

Aniline points were determined using ASTM Method D611. The results, aswell as conversion and yield on the basis of vol % are presented inTable 17A and B. Similar results were obtained when compared on a wt %basis (data not shown). Cracking conversion for ATB-VGO (243) andKHC-VGO is 21% and 16% on volume lower that for ANS VGO. HydrotreatedATB is 5% on volume lower that ANS-VGO.

TABLE 17A Measured Aniline Point on a vol % basis ATB- Hydro- ATB-ANS-VGO VGO (243) ATB-VGO KHC-VGO VGO (255) Vol % FF Vol % FF Vol % FFVol % FF Vol % FF Fresh Feed Rate: 68.6 68.6 68.6 68.6 68.6 MBPD RiserOutlet 971 971 971 971 971 Temperature ° F. Fresh Feed 503 503 503 503503 Temperature ° F. Regenerator 1334 1609 1375 1562 1511 Temperature °F. Conversion 73.85 53.01 68.48 57.58 56.53 C₂ and Lighter, 4.13 8.194.53 7.70 7.37 Wt % FF H₂S 0.54 1.37 0.12 1.18 1.35 H₂ 0.18 0.21 0.220.25 0.20 Methane 1.35 2.87 1.65 2.65 2.45 Ethylene 1.00 1.37 1.31 1.511.31 Ethane 1.07 2.36 1.23 2.11 2.06 Total C₃ 9.41 7.15 10.01 8.18 7.50Propylene 7.37 5.79 7.81 6.54 6.06 Propane 2.04 1.35 2.20 1.64 1.44Total C₄ 13.79 9.35 13.05 11.57 10.34 Isobutane 4.25 2.40 4.85 3.21 2.65NButane 1.08 0.35 1.07 0.53 0.39 Total Butanes 8.46 6.60 7.13 7.83 7.30Gasoline (C₅- 58.46 35.35 51.56 39.43 38.58 430° F. LCGO (430-650° F.)20.78 34.74 27.08 32.06 32.05 HCGO + DO 5.37 12.25 4.44 10.36 11.42(650° F.) Coke, Wt % 5.50 5.835.50 5.53 5.82 5.70 API Gravity 21.7 13.922.4 15.5 15.2 Aniline Point: ° F. 168 110 133.4 119.0 125 (Measured)

The difference in the conversion for ATB-VGO, KHC-VGO and Hydro-ATB-VGOrelative to ANS-VGO (control) listed in Table 17A is larger thanexpected, when the results of the MAT test (Table 16) are considered.This true for ATB-VGO (243), (255), KHC-VGO, Hydro-ATB-VGO,ATB-VGO-resid, and Hydro ATB-VGO-resid. To determine if the measuredaniline point is not a reliable indicator of the ATB-, KHC- andHydro-VGOs, the aniline point was calculated using standard methodsknown in the art based, upon distillation data and API gravity. Thecalculated aniline points, and cracking conversion for the various VGO'sare presented in Tables 17B and C.

TABLE 17B Calculated Aniline Point on a vol % basis ANS- ATB- VGO) VGOHydro-ATB- KHC- Vol % (243) VGO Vol % VGO FF Vol % FF FF Vol % FF FreshFeed Rate: MBPD 68.6 68.6 68.6 68.6 Riser Outlet 971 971 971 971Temperature ° F. Fresh Feed Temperature 503 503 503 503 ° F. Regenerator1334 1464 1272 1383 Temperature ° F. Conversion 73.85 57.45 74.25 62.98C₂ and Lighter, Wt % FF 4.13 6.79 3.53 6.05 H₂S 0.54 1.40 0.13 1.25 H₂0.18 0.17 0.18 0.16 Methane 1.35 2.14 1.21 1.86 Ethylene 1.00 1.19 1.071.20 Ethane 1.07 1.89 0.94 1.57 Total C₃ 9.41 7.33 10.10 8.27 Propylene7.37 5.93 8.10 6.59 Propane 2.04 1.40 2.00 1.68 Total C₄ 13.79 10.7615.26 12.18 Isobutane 4.25 2.75 5.01 3.37 N-Butane 1.08 0.41 1.18 0.54Total Butanes 8.46 7.60 9.07 8.27 Gasoline (C₅-430° F.) 58.46 39.7157.07 45.57 LCGO (430-650° F.) 20.78 30.85 22.20 27.70 HCGO + DO (650°F.) 5.37 11.70 3.55 9.32 Coke, Wt % FF 5.50 5.56 5.33 5.46 API Gravity(Feed) 21.7 13.8 22.4 15.5 Aniline Point: ° F. (Calc) 168 135.0 158.0144.0

TABLE 17C Calculated Aniline Point on a vol % basis, continued ATB-Hydro- ATB- Hydro VGO ATB- VGO ATB- (255) VGO resid VGO Vol % (255) Vol% resid Vol FF Vol % FF FF % FF Fresh Feed 68.6 68.6 68.6 68.6 Rate:Riser Outlet 971 971 971 971 Temperature ° F. Fresh Feed 503 503 503 503Temperature ° F. Regenerator 1374 1238 1345* 1345* Temperature ° F.Conversion 60.86 75.29 83.82 72.34 C₂ and Lighter 6.13 3.36 4.80 4.13H₂S 1.42 0.12 1.55 0.04 H₂ 0.14 0.17 0.18 0.60 Methane 1.85 1.13 1.431.56 Ethylene 1.10 1.04 0.48 0.79 Ethane 1.63 0.89 1.17 1.14 Total C₃7.54 10.44 7.66 8.49 Propylene 6.07 8.62 5.97 6.76 Propane 1.47 1.821.69 1.73 Total C₄ 11.58 16.56 12.99 12.60 Isobutane 2.96 4.96 3.34 3.75N-Butane 0.44 1.19 0.49 0.99 Total Butanes 8.18 10.40 9.16 7.85 Gasoline(C₅- 43.38 56.87 45.61 56.66 430° F.) LCGO (430-650° F.) 28.61 21.0926.28 21.59 HCGO + DO 10.52 3.62 9.89 6.06 (650° F.) Coke, Wt % FF 5.435.30 7.54 6.42 API Gravity 15.2 23.9 11.8 20.0 (Feed) Aniline Point 145168 148.0 170.0 ° F. (Cacl)

Based upon the calculated aniline points, the aniline point allincreased and are more in keeping with the data determined from MATtesting. For example, the aniline point of:

-   -   ATB-VGO (243) is 135° F.,    -   ATB-VGO (255) is 145° F.,    -   KHC-VGO is 144° F.,    -   ATB-VGO-resid is 148° F.,    -   Hydro-ATB-VGO is 158° F., and    -   Hydro-ATB-VGO-resid is 170° F.

There is no change in the aniline point or product yield for the ANS-VGO(control). Along with the increased calculated aniline points wereincreased product yields are consistent with the cracking differencesMAT results of Table 16.

These results indicate that RTP product VGOs have a plurality of sidechains available for cracking, and provide higher levels of conversionthan those derived from the aniline point measurements.

The present invention has been described with regard to preferredembodiments. However, it will be obvious to persons skilled in the artthat a number of variations and modifications can be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention as described herein.

1. A method of producing an upgraded product from a heavy hydrocarbon feedstock comprising: a) upgrading a heavy hydrocarbon feedstock by a method comprising: i) providing a particulate heat carrier into an upflow reactor; ii) introducing the heavy hydrocarbon feedstock into the upflow reactor at least one location above that of the particulate heat carrier so that a loading ratio of the particulate heat carrier to the heavy hydrocarbon feedstock is from about 10:1 to about 200:1, wherein the upflow reactor is run at a temperature of from about 300° C. to about 700° C. and iii) allowing the heavy hydrocarbon feedstock to interact with the particulate heat carrier with a residence time of less than about 20 seconds, to produce a product mixture comprising a product stream and the particulate heat carrier; b) separating the product stream from the particulate heat carrier; and c) obtaining an upgraded product from the product stream using a vacuum tower.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein after the step of separating (step b), a gaseous product and a liquid product mixture are obtained from the product stream, the liquid product mixture comprising a light fraction and a heavy fraction.
 3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising, determining the energy requirements of an oil production facility, and based on the determined energy requirements, either: A) transporting all of the heavy fraction of the liquid product mixture to the oil production facility for conversion into a form of energy, B) transporting a fraction of the heavy fraction of the liquid product mixture to the oil production facility for conversion into a form of energy and recycling a remaining fraction of the heavy fraction to the upflow reactor for further processing within a recycled pyrolysis run to produce a recycled product stream, or C) recycling all of the heavy fraction of the liquid product mixture to the upflow reactor for further processing within a recycled pyrolysis run to produce a recycled product stream.
 4. The method according to claim 2, further comprising, determining the energy requirements of an oil production facility, and based on the determined energy requirements, either: A′) converting all of the heavy fraction of the liquid product mixture into a form of energy and transporting the energy to the oil production facility, B′) converting a fraction of the heavy fraction of the liquid product mixture into a form of energy and transporting the energy to the oil production facility and recycling a remaining fraction of the heavy fraction to the upflow reactor for further processing within a recycled pyrolysis run to produce a recycled product stream, or C′) recycling all of the heavy fraction of the liquid product mixture to the upflow reactor for further processing within a recycled pyrolysis run to produce a recycled product stream.
 5. The method of claim 3, wherein the further processing includes mixing the heavy fraction with the particulate heat carrier, wherein the particulate heat carrier of the recycled pyrolysis run is at a temperature at about, or above, that used in the step of upgrading (step a).
 6. The method of claim 4, wherein the further processing includes mixing the heavy fraction with the particulate heat carrier, wherein the particulate heat carrier of the recycled pyrolysis run is at a temperature at about, or above, that used in the step of upgrading (step a).
 7. The method of claim 2, wherein the product stream is treated within a hot condenser prior to obtaining the light fraction and the heavy fraction.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the heavy hydrocarbon feedstock is either heavy oil or bitumen.
 9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the upflow reactor run at a temperature in the range from about 450° C. to about 600° C.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the reactor is run at a temperature in the range from about 480° C. to about 550° C.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein in the step of introducing (step a)ii)), the loading ratio is from about 20:1 to about 30:1.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein prior to the step of upgrading, the feedstock is introduced into a fractionation column that separates a volatile component of the feedstock from a liquid component of the feedstock, and the liquid component is subjected to upgrading (step a).
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein prior to the step of upgrading, the feedstock is introduced into a fractionation column that separates a volatile component of the feedstock from a liquid mixture derived from the feedstock, the liquid mixture comprising a light component and a heavy component, wherein the heavy component is subjected to the step of upgrading (step a), and the light component is combined with the light fraction derived from the vacuum tower following the step of obtaining (step c).
 14. A system comprising: i) an upflow reactor comprising: a) at least one injector at least one of a plurality of locations along the upflow reactor, the at least one injector for introducing the heavy hydrocarbon feedstock into the upflow reactor, b) a particulate heat carrier, the particulate heat carrier present at a loading ratio of about 10:1 to about 200:1 with respect to the heavy hydrocarbon feedstock; c) an inlet for introducing the particulate heat carrier, the inlet located below the at least one injection means, d) a conversion section within the upflow reactor; ii) a vacuum tower; and iii) a controller configured to determine the energy requirements of an oil production facility.
 15. The system of claim 14 further comprising a pre-heater for pre-heating the heavy hydrocarbon feedstock prior to introduction to the upflow reactor.
 16. The system of claim 15 further comprising a separator at an outlet of the upflow reactor to separate gaseous and liquid products from the particulate heat carrier. 